1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communications, communication devices, and computers. More specifically, the invention relates to an integrated system which performs wireless telephony and personal computing functions. The system may include an interactive personal organizer for maintaining directories and calendars, and for generating and storing documents. The invention also relates to a system for transmitting executable instructions from a computer to a wireless telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers and telephones are useful tools for efficiently performing work in the modern workplace. Very often, both are found in close proximity to one another, whether that workplace be the office or the home. Furthermore, many individuals maintain stand alone portable personal organizers to assist them in retaining and recalling telephone lists, meeting times, calendars and other data.
In recent years, there has been increasing use of compact, pocket-size electronic personal organizers that store personal scheduling information such as appointments, tasks, phone numbers, flight schedules, alarms, birthdays, and anniversaries. Some of the more common electronic organizers are akin to hand-held calculators. They have full input keyboards with alphanumeric keys, as well as special function keys. The organizers also have liquid crystal displays (LCD) which may be used to display full text sentences and rudimentary graphics.
Apart from personal organizers, it is also known to maintain appointment calendars and task lists on desk-top personal computers. Thus, people who electronically maintain their schedules often enter the same information two different times: once into a personal computer and once into a portable personal organizer. This repetitive effort is inconvenient and affords opportunity for error. Additionally, there is a risk of incorrectly entering conflicting schedules.
Furthermore, a portable organizer may not provide telephone or adequate personal computer functions. The portable organizer may not be able to interface with a telephone or a personal computer. Thus, the work space clutter is compounded because one may still need a telephone and a personal computer alongside the mobile organizer. Furthermore, when an individual leaves the work station, he or she may have to carry both a personal organizer and a mobile phone. Finally, because the keys on a portable personal organizer may be relatively small, data entry may be difficult or cumbersome. Accordingly, it would be desirable for a handset to function both as a mobile phone and as a personal organizer, thus eliminating the need for carrying multiple devices.
In addition, it would be desirable to provide convenient data transfer between the personal organizer and the computer workstation, to facilitate data entry and retrieval. That is, there is a need in the art for a system that provides for a single entry of scheduling and other organizer data that can be read subsequently by both the computer and the portable organizer device.
One approach to accomplishing automatic data transfer is to interconnect the computer and personal organizer using a physical cord or conductor. For instance, a serial RS232 cable can be used to connect the serial port of the computer with a specially configured I/O port on the personal organizer. In this manner, data entered into the computer can be electronically transferred to the personal organizer over the cable. While this system might reduce the opportunity for entry error, it would be inconvenient because the user must either carry a cable along with the personal organizer or leave the cable with the computer and only load information from that computer.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a wireless communication system that is not reliant on a cable interface. In addition, there is a need for a system for downloading data from a computer to a mobile phone/electronic personal organizer which is easy to use, convenient, and capable of wide use.